Suriname consulate opens in Bangalore

The Embassy of Suriname opened its consulate in the City on Saturday to provide assistance to Suriname nationals, Indians travelling to Suriname and facilitate trade delegations for investment opportunities between the two countries.

Suriname’s Ambassador to India, Aashna Wandana Kanhai, who inaugurated the office in the presence of distinguished guests including the consul generals of many countries, said: “The warm hearts of Suriname’s multi-ethnic population is open to the world and the special trade between India and Suriname, initially vested by the Indian Diaspora to Suriname, has developed and grown to be a mature structure of cultural, economic and political co-operation and we extend full cooperation in facilitating trade and business between the two countries.”

Suriname is the largest exporter of Bauxite and 80 per cent of the country is filled with rainforests.

“This Consulate will help promote cooperation and trade in mining and agriculture infrastructure in Suriname,” she added.

Asif Iqbal has been appointed the Honorary Consul with consular jurisdiction over the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. He is the Executive Director of the Latin American Caribbean Federation of India and the President of the Defense Technology Infrastructure Society of India.

The Honorary Consulate will work towards strengthening  educational, scientific, cultural and economic ties between India and Suriname.

Business opportunities

There will be trade delegations and official exploratory trips to Suriname organised by the Honorary Consulate in Bangalore and Hyderabad. In fact, there is a delegation that will travel to Suriname to explore business opportunities along with the Indo-Suriname Chamber of Commerce based in India.

Suriname is a country with 37 percent Indian population and it was a Dutch colony till 1975. A batch of pilots from the island country, who are undergoing training at HAL in the city, were also present on the occasion.